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I’ve found even people who aren’t crazy about Senate Navy Bean soup tend to like this more highly seasoned version – easily doubled and freezes well, it’s the perfect candidate for leftover Ham.  For other ideas for using your leftover Ham, see 12 Days of Ham.

Navy Bean Soup with Bacon

 

Recipe:  Navy Bean Soup with Bacon, serves 12

  • 1 pound dried navy beans, soaked overnight
  • 1 ham bone
  • 6 slices bacon, diced
  • 12 cups chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 pound potatoes, cooked and cubed
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped celery
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Drain beans, place in pot and add 12 cups of stock, bay leaf, tamari and thyme, along with the ham bone.  Bring to a boil and simmer 30 – 40 minutes, till beans are tender.

Mash potatoes with 1/2 cup milk and set aside.

Cook bacon, remove and set aside, then saute vegetables, garlic and parsley in three tablespoons of drippings.  If there are not enough drippings, add a bit of oil or butter.  After they’ve softened, add to beans, and simmer, one hour or so.

Remove about one cup of beans, mash and return to the pot, along with the mashed potato mixture.

Remove bone and any chunks of meat, shred and return meat to the pot.

Cook about 10 more minutes to thicken.

Garnish with the bacon, and chives or green onion, if desired

 

Money and Time Saving Strategies:

For pricing, remember to use your coupon matching sites for your local stores.  My favorite is Pocket Your Dollars in my area, but every store has a group of enthusiastic couponers who can point you to the best bargains.  Don’t be discouraged if your prices are higher at first – just keep shopping the best sales and follow the strategies and you’ll get there!  Check under Saving on Basic Ingredients for more detailed information and storage hints – use <control f> to search each page to bring you to the item you want to check out.

I often make a double batch, or make two different soups with one ham bone – I chop and cook the vegetables at the same time (if they’re the same) and saute them, then divide into two pots.

  • Beans:  check here.
  • Ham Bone:  I’ll sometimes simmer the bone separately, so I can make two kinds of soup with it – split pea and navy bean.  Be sure to put in your ham juices and ham drippings for added flavor.
  • Bacon:  Check here.  Even though the name of this soup IS Navy Bean with Bacon, this is one place where I’ll consider just using a few tablespoons of bacon drippings instead of frying up bacon, and leaving the actual bacon for another purpose - I love the flavor it lends to the sautéed vegetables, but I’m not that crazy about bits of bacon floating in my soup anyway, and it’s delicious without it.
  • Chicken Stock:  I make my own, every time I get ahold of chicken bones!
  • Tamari – Substitute regular soy sauce if you don’t have on hand.
  • Potatoes:  If you have leftover mashed potatoes from your ham dinner, use them instead of cooking up potato and mashing it with milk.

This soup freezes well, but will separate.  Simply stir back together to reheat.  I often freeze both in meal portions and in single portions as this soup makes a large amount.  Nothing for lunch?  I just grab a single.

 

Nutrition:

Per Serving: 196 Calories; 2g Fat (11.9% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 230mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat.

 

Put Your Own Spin on it:

Consider serving this with biscuits, maybe leftover from ham dinner, or vary it up and serve with corn muffins, spider cake, or Parmesan toasts.  (Spread thick slices of bread with a mixture of butter and garlic salt, sprinkle with parmesan and broil.)

Garnish as you wish, with parsley, chives or green onion.  A drizzle of vinegar gives this soup a little zip, and I know people (but I’ll never tell who they are!) who actually like a little ketchup mixed in this soup.

 

My PayOff: 

  • A dirt cheap, hearty soup that so flavorful and filling, you’d never guess it was a budget meal.
  • It has a good amount of fiber, is low in fat, fairly low in carbs (and they’re the good kind) and full of vegetables.
  • This one soup will make several meals for my family


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